Concurrent Sessions 11 | October 11, 2025 | 8:45 AM - 10:15 AM (PST)
Cultivating Intergenerational Connections Through Horticultural Therapy
Description
This interactive presentation highlights our high school’s innovative horticultural therapy program that integrates biophilic design and intergenerational collaboration. Students propagate houseplants for teachers while engaging in projects with assisted living residents—creating terrariums, watercolor paints, succulent gardens, and tactile blankets. Attendees will learn how these practices foster emotional well-being, enhance classroom environments, and strengthen connections across generations, offering practical strategies to transform educational and community spaces.
Speaker
Betsy Anderton Tipton, PhD
Betsy Anderton Tipton, PhD in Instructional Design, is a dedicated high school educator with over 30 years of interisciplinary teaching experience. Passionate about harnessing the power of nature to transform learning environments, she integrates horticultural therapy, biophilic design, and sustainable gardening practices into her curriculum to boost both academic achievement and emotional well-being. Betsy’s innovative projects—such as providing houseplants for teacher wellness and spearheading intergenerational initiatives with assisted living communities—create strong connections among students, staff, and local residents. Her forward-thinking approach and multiple grant awards continue to expand her impactful programs.
Reach for Growth: A Pathway Back to Our Wisest Self
Description
Stephanie will facilitate dialogue around the common mental health challenges that our clients face. The question we will seek to answer is, “How do we guide a client back to their wisest self, using horticulture?” As helping professionals, we may find ourselves feeling overwhelmed by a client’s experience or even feel helpless due to the limitations of our role, resources, or knowledge. Stephanie will pave a path for us by describing the unbeatable combination between horticultural therapy and internal family systems theoretical framework.
Speaker
Stephanie Ramirez
Stephanie Ramirez is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and a registered therapeutic horticulture practitioner. She has nine years of experience in a wide range of clinical settings, including short-term crisis residential treatment facilities, inpatient hospitalization, and outpatient services. Through this, she has assisted individuals of all ages learn the tools that they need to reduce self-harm, prevent suicide, and overcome depression and anxiety. She also has experience working with military personnel and conflict-affected populations. Stephanie currently serves as a Clinical Director of Easterseals PORT Health. In this role, she provides clinical oversight of the REACH program, which provides crisis services to individuals with developmental disabilities. In addition, she oversees the use of horticulture activities within this program. Lastly, Stephanie is the founder of Reach for Growth LLC., which provides mental health education, psychotherapy and therapeutic horticulture services.
It's NO Joke~ Humor and Horticultural Therapy
Description
Integration of humor into horticultural therapy (HT) as a catalyst for openness, ingenuity, and genuineness. It emphasizes humor’s role in activating the brain’s reward system, reducing stress, enhancing connection, and fostering awe. Through stories, metaphors, and personal insights, the presentation highlights how humor strengthens therapeutic alliances, supports emotional recovery, and enriches the healing process.
Speakers
Elizabeth (Libba) Shortridge, MLA, HTR
Libba Shortridge, MLA, HTR, is a registered horticultural therapist in Atlanta, GA. She recently retired from Skyland Trail, a mental health facility for adults and adolescents where she passionately wove together her awe for the natural world and of human nature for 15 years. Graduating from HTI in 2009, in 2017 Libba was awarded the Rhea McCandliss Professional Service Award for her innovative programmatic development at Skyland Trail. In 2024, Libba was invited to speak in Taiwan and to tour the HT facilities throughout the country. In Taiwan she found a similar passion combined with humor that makes for an enriching experience in the profession of horticultural therapy and is excited to share her discovery with the talented horticultural therapist, Hsiang-Hua Chen (aka Melanie).
Hsiang-Hua Chen (aka Melanie), MS, HTR
Hsiang-Hua Chen (aka Melanie), MS, HTR. Certified and registered HTR in Taiwan Horticultural Therapy Association, 2019. Permacultural Design Certificate, Earth Passengers Taiwan, 2016. I have a background in Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, with additional training in neuroscience and graphic design in CA. As a full-time horticultural therapist, I collaborate with diverse facilities and organizations, including vocational training centers, long-term care facilities, schools, universities, and private organizations. I believe that nature holds profound therapeutic power for everyone, offering inspiration and healing in many aspects. Since becoming a registered horticultural therapist in 2019, I have designed and implemented horticultural therapy programs for diverse populations, including children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, mental health clients, and corporate teams. My work focuses on integrating evidence-based practices into horticultural and therapeutic activities while bridging the gap between nature and urban communities.
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